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Wednesday, October 3, 2007

C'est What's 19th Annual Fall Festival Wrap-Up


I have been a bit tardy getting this post on the blog as I have been busy with other stuff lately. I have also written a longer version of this story that may well end up in the upcoming edition of TAPS beer magazine slated to be released in November.

C'est What's? 19th Annual Fall Festival of Craft Brewers took place Friday Sept 28 before a packed house of beer enthusiasts'. There was a terrific line-up of ales and lagers produced by some of Ontario best brewers.

Every year this event is held by publican George Milbrandt to promote the diverse offerings brewed right here in Ontario. Many breweries contribute to the event by producing seasonal beers or one offs that could be sampled for the small price of a loonie.

Great Lakes and Grand River Breweries introduced their Pumpkin ales which went over very well with the crowd of mostly males over the age of 25. Scotch Irish and Durham County breweries produced a kellertrubes lager and India Pale ale on cask respectively, that had people reaching for more. This could be a good sign of things to come for drinkers in Ontario as the brewers are starting to brew some new and interesting beers. More favourites included Church Key's Flanders Sour Brown, Grand River Ploughman's Ale and C'est Whats Hazelnut Chocolate Ale.

One of the great things about this event was that some of the brewers and brewery owners showed up and made themselves available to answer questions regarding their beer. Ken Woods from Black Oak discussed his plans about relocating his brewery to the Toronto area and to expand distribution. It is always interesting meeting the person responsible for brewing beers that you consume.

Overall the event was another success and Milbrandt was a gracious host. He confirmed that this was the largest crowd in the 19 years and credited it to the brewers who are brewing new and exciting beers. I had a blast meeting other beer bloggers and brewers and look forward to the next event at the Canadian Brewing Awards.

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